Six notable marriage proposals in literature

At The Barnes & Noble Book Blog Jill Boyd tagged six memorable marriage proposals in literature. One entry on the list:

THE CAVEAT

Florentino’s proposal to Fermina (Love in the Time of Cholera, by Gabriel Garcia Marquez)

This ranks as memorable not because of the content of the proposal—we are not actually told exactly what Florentino writes in the letter to Fermina asking her to marry him—but rather because of Fermina’s response to it. Months after receiving the correspondence, she finally writes back: “Very well, I will marry you if you promise not to make me eat eggplant.” A proposal predicated upon such a condition may not scream romance, but I applaud her practicality. In fact, re-reading this chapter has made me regret not attaching my own marriage caveat, a la “I will marry you…if you promise not to make me eat anything I cook.”

Read about another entry on the list. 

Love in the Time of Cholera also made the Christian Science Monitor's list of six novels about grand passions, Ann Brashares' six favorite books list, and Marie Arana's list of the best books about love; it is one of Hugh Thomson’s top ten books on South American journeys.

--Marshal Zeringue